Scotland v Ivory Coast LIVE: Hosts fall to friendly defeat as Steve Clarke lines up final World Cup squad decisions | OneFootball

Clarke must submit his final squad list for the World Cup on 30 May (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Scotland fell to a spirited defeat to the Ivory Coast in their final friendly before Steve Clarke decides his squad for the summer’s World Cup.

The hosts started brightly at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium but they found themselves behind after 12 minutes as Elye Wahi’s low effort bounced back into the path of Nicolas Pepe, who tapped in from close range.

It was the headline moment of a frantic first half that yielded few clear-cut chances, with Scott McTominay testing Alban Lafont and the visitors looking a threat on the counter before the break.

Scotland came out fighting in the second half but while they put plenty of attacking pressure on the visitors, they were unable to make it click in attack.

Several chances broke down in the final third as the hosts hunted an equaliser, but in the end they were left to rue a lack of attacking quality as they fell to yet another friendly defeat in the final match before World Cup preparations begin in earnest.

Nicolas Pepe’s goal for Ivory Coast inflicts another defeat on Scotland

A much-changed Scotland suffered another friendly defeat with the 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast offering manager Steve Clarke few solutions to their creativity problems as he prepares for the nation’s first World Cup since 1998.

This was the Scots’ eighth reverse in the last 11 non-competitive matches and after conceding an early goal they struggled to really test opponents who did not concede a goal or lose a game in qualifying for this summer’s tournament.

The team were criticised for their flat performance in Saturday’s defeat to Japan but pre-match midfielder John McGinn stressed they could not afford to take the game to better opponents as they would be picked off.

Nicolas Pepe’s goal for Ivory Coast inflicts another defeat on Scotland

Steve Clarke’s team were beaten on Merseyside.

Chris Wilson1 April 2026 07:00

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Chris Wilson1 April 2026 05:00

Thomas Tuchel offers Harry Kane update after last-minute England injury

News from the other game from yesterday...

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed the injury that ruled captain Harry Kane out of England’s friendly against Japan came “out of nothing”.

The Bayern Munich striker sat out the pre-World Cup test at Wembley as a precaution, with Kane “having picked up a minor issue in training”.

Thomas Tuchel offers Harry Kane update after last-minute England injury

The captain was a shock absence from England’s team against Japan at Wembley

Chris Wilson1 April 2026 03:00

Cole Palmer and Phil Foden hurt their World Cup hopes as England slump to miserable defeat by Japan

The report from England’s final pre-World Cup friendly...

England’s final international break before Thomas Tuchel selects his World Cup squad began with a third-string side sharing a drab 1-1 draw with Uruguay. It ended with a largely second-string team suffering a dismal 1-0 defeat by Japan here at Wembley. If Tuchel learnt anything from the past few days, perhaps it was that he needs his first XI more than he knew if England are to last the distance in North America this summer.

The last match before a major tournament has little material impact. This is a friendly that will soon be forgotten. But these games do affect expectations around the England side, they set the temperature, and this was a night when England’s prospects of winning the World Cup were dialled down a few degrees.

Palmer and Foden hurt World Cup hopes as England slump to defeat by Japan

England 0-1 Japan: Kaoru Mitoma’s sublime counter-attack goal condemned Thomas Tuchel’s makeshift team to defeat in their final showing before the manager picks his World Cup squad

Chris Wilson1 April 2026 01:00

Looking ahead: Only two games left before the World Cup!

The World Cup begins on June 11 but before that, Scotland have one scheduled warm-up game: against Curacao on 30 May at Hampden Park.

There will also likely be a warm-up game on US soil closer to the opening game, with that match pitting them against South American minnows Bolivia.

The final squad lists reportedly need to be submitted on 30 May for all teams in the tournament.

Scotland’s fixtures will be as follows:

13 June: Scotland vs Haiti – 9pm ET/2am BST on 14 June

19 June: Scotland vs Morocco – 6pm ET/11pm BST

24 June: Scotland vs Brazil – 6pm ET/11pm BST

Chris Wilson31 March 2026 23:00

Clarke: 'Some things were good, some things bad'

"Disappointed to lose again. Like always with friendlies, some things were good, some things bad,” says Scotland boss Steve Clarke.

"I thought we started the game really well. We got caught on the counter attack. We didn't react well to losing the goal. First half became a bit of a struggle.

"Second half, I thought we were excellent, we dominated the ball and asked them to defend. To be fair to Ivory Coast they defended very well,” he explained.

"Sometimes you're hoping the ball will fall for you and it didn't fall for us tonight, but you have to make it fall for you. That's the little bit we need to get better at.”

On his final squad selection, Clarke adds: "Still plenty of things can happen. I won't get too carried away. Going into previous tournaments I've lost players to injury."

(Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Chris Wilson31 March 2026 22:35